Sleep Drunk

What is Idiopathic Hypersomnia

Idiopathic Hypersomnia (IH) is a rare neurological disorder marked by an insatiable need to sleep that is not eased by a full night’s slumber. People with IH sleep normal or long amounts of time each night but still feel excessively sleepy during the day. They may take long naps but wake up feeling no better or worse than when they fell asleep. The symptoms start out in early adolescence normally between the ages of 15 to 30 years old and are often lifelong symptoms. The true prevalence of the disorder is unknown due to the fact that in order to arrive at this diagnosis one must rule out all other conditions that present themselves with similar symptoms. This contributes to the difficulty patients experience when trying to arrive at a proper diagnosis and often means they will suffer in silence for many years before proper help is found.

The Challenge

One of the biggest issues with this condition is the lack of awareness of this disorder within the general population. This problem is made more difficult because, unlike other sleep disorders where symptoms are marked by immediate changes in an individual’s physical state like cataplexy and paralysis; Idiopathic Hypersomnia does not present itself in a similar manner. Not enough individuals know about this condition so individuals usually suffer in silence, and are resigned to live with the judgments placed on them by society.

The Goal

The goal is to bridge the gap of information by creating a visual campaign of posters each representing a manifestation of a common hypersomnia symptom. The Campaign is designed to cover a week, until finally finishing with an exhibition of all posters together. The hope is that it will educate more people about this condition and encourage more tolerance by showing that sometimes we don’t see the whole picture all at once, sometimes it reveals itself over time. I found inspiration in the idea of progression, movement, and abstract visual representations. Thus The goal of this project is to show the internal struggles people with idiopathic hypersomnia face both emotionally as a result of the condition. I want to engage a younger demographic, because symptom development for this condition normally starts in late adolescence. So an age range from 15 – 30 will be my target.

Identity Design
Posters
Exhibition
Marketing
Information Booklet
Social Media